I wasn’t going to get political, but…

It’s true. I was planning to stay away from politics in this space. Then Don Trump happened.

I’ve never had much use for the guy, his suits, his billions or his buildings. I think people who feel compelled to put their name on everything they own are deeply insecure.

I’ve seen the promos, but I’ve never watched his little show where he fires people. I was an employer for almost three decades and had to let people go from time to time, but I never yelled “You’re fired!” at anyone. It’s a bad way to treat people. I understand that’s his schtick. He’s a loud-mouth, self-aggrandizing New Yorker with seriously weird hair.

(For the record, let me state that there are some loud-mouth New Yorkers whom I love, but both they and what’s left of their hair are real in a way Don Trump could never fathom.)

Because Don Trump has a bunch of money, he thinks he’s smart. So, apparently, do a rapidly declining number of other people. Like many 1) small-town, 2) Texan, 3) immigrant-loving, 4) veteran-respecting, 5) people who actually do have a filter between our minds and our mouths — I’m alarmed that this man could remotely be considered for the job of president of the United States.

I think we’re smarter than that, but my faith gets shaken now and then. I hope the public sees that Don Trump is a “reality” TV star who wouldn’t know reality if it was hiding in his hair. But he has name recognition, a familiar face and lots of money. If the White House can be bought, he can buy it.

The good news is, so far, he’s also got both feet firmly planted in his own mouth. It seems that if the other 47 Republicans running for president aren’t able to defeat him, he’s virtually a shoo-in to defeat himself.

First, he talked in a TV interview as if he believes immigration across our southern border consists of Mexico emptying its jails and dispatching people to the U.S. — like Castro did back in the 80s (it’s confusing, I know, Don — all those Hispanics). He said Mexican immigrants were mostly rapists, drug dealers and criminals — then added, as an afterthought, “… and some, I assume, are good people.”

It struck me an off-the-cuff remark by someone who has absolutely no idea what he is talking about. You can hear a more informed level of political discourse at any coffee shop in America.

Then last week, he popped off and said Senator John McCain is not a war hero. Seriously? John McCain is a third-generation Naval officer who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, flew jets off of aircraft carriers and was shot down while serving his country. He spent nearly six years in a North Vietnamese POW camp — refusing early release — and still suffers every day from the wounds he sustained in his military service and the torture he endured as a POW.

And he’s been elected to the U.S. Senate five times.

Trump is a second-generation real estate magnate who used student deferments and some kind of toe injury to avoid military service. While McCain has been serving his country, Don Trump has been serving himself at the buffet of freedom our veterans paid for with their blood.

No, you don’t have to have been in the military to be president, but a Commander-in-Chief should at least be able to recognize, honor and respect the sacrifices of heroes.

Don Trump can’t do that. He also can’t see those who criticize or question him as anything but idiots. Nor does he seem familiar with concepts like humility, diplomacy, listening, learning, seeking the counsel of smart people or thinking before one speaks.

He thinks he is presidential material. I’m pretty sure I know what he is. I’m also pretty sure if he gets on a ballot, he’s going to think everyone who doesn’t vote for him is an idiot.

Thanks, Jerry! Usually I’d rather put pepper in my underwear, but now and then through the lead-up to the election, I’m sure I’ll feel the urge. Enjoying your stuff a lot, working my way back through it.